Rhodes expats protest Brexit, closure of Parliament

Around a dozen British nationals residing on Rhodes gathered at the port of the southeastern Aegean island on Tuesday to protest Brexit and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s shutdown of Parliament last week.

The protesters held homemade banners reading “Defend our democracy” and “Stop the coup” among other slogans, echoing massive rallies across Britain on Saturday.

“We decided to gather to protest the way the our new prime minister, Boris Johnson, is treating our democracy,” one of the protesters told Rhodes’ Dimokratiki website. “Shutting down Parliament is undemocratic. It is a coup and the British people should not tolerate it.”

Around 100 British expats in Spain also rallied against Johnson’s handing of Brexit talks over the weekend.

The estimated 250,000 Britons living in other countries of the European Union are growing increasingly concerned of the impact of the UK’s departure from the bloc on their rights and their lives.